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Language Studies
Hebrew Thoughts Archives
March 21, 2015
Hebrew has several words to describe being dark or black, whether of face, skin, hair, mood or the weather. One such is שָׁחוֹר shâchôr "black" (Strong's #7838, x6) coming from שָׁחַר shâchar "to be black" (Strong's #7835, x1) which only occurs in Job 30:30, "My skin is black…
March 14, 2015
מוּת mûwth " be dead, die" (Strong's #4191, x835) is a common Semitic and Phoenician root word meaning "death". The middle root letter וּ appears to be a softening of a 'liquid' ר over time, so that the original word might have been מרת m-r-t.
This is evident in both ancient and modern words like mortal, French mort, Latin mortis and Greek μορτος Compare also, with the 't' hardened to a 'd', the old German mord used of death and…
This is evident in both ancient and modern words like mortal, French mort, Latin mortis and Greek μορτος Compare also, with the 't' hardened to a 'd', the old German mord used of death and…
March 7, 2015
דָּמַע dâma‘ "to weep" (Strong's #1830, x2) occurs in just one Hebrew Bible verse, Jeremiah 13:17, where it is in fact intensified by repetition - hence the two instances. It might be literally translated as וְדָמעַ תִּדְמַע vedhâmoa‘ tidh'ma‘ "and weeping it will weep coming down tears of my eye", but more idiomatically…
February 28, 2015
The word בַּעַל ba‘al (Strong's #1167, x82) comes from the root verb בָּעַל bâ‘al (Strong's #1166, x16) "to rule, own" which could encompass possession or even marriage, since a wife was more property than partner. Translations vary across a range taking…
February 21, 2015
The word בַּעַל ba‘al (Strong's #1167, x82) often translated as simply "man" x25, "husband" x15, but more accurately and simply as "lord, master or owner" x26 appears in Genesis 20:3 together with its root verb בָּעַל bâ‘al (Strong's #1166, x16). Whilst the verb occurs…
February 14, 2015
Hebrew words are almost universally derived from active verbs hence "love" is not a noun or a state but an action such as "he loved, he is loving". Whilst Greek can say "God is love", Hebrew says "God loves" or "God is a lover".
This root verb אָהַב (Strong's #157, x208) occurs over 200 times in the Hebrew Scriptures and can range in meaning from physical even gluttonous appetite to God's love for His people. In between are its uses for the love, platonic…
February 7, 2015
מְנוּחַה menûchâh "rest, resting place" (Strong's #4496, x21) like מָנוֹחַ mânôwach "rest" (Strong's #4494, x7) comes from the root verb נוּחַ nûwach (Strong's #5117, x64) "to rest, settle". The first use of either word comes in the Flood narrative where Noah sends out a dove to test…
January 31, 2015
The root verb נוּחַ nûwach (Strong's #5117, x64) "to to rest, settle" suggests relief and rest in the sense of being able to relax, take breath, and breathe out. A place of settled calm. A similar notion may be found in the root verb רוּחַ rûwach (Strong's #7306, x11) which shares the same second syllable sound and means "to breathe" whether as exhalation from which we also get…
January 24, 2015
The first three uses of בָּנה bânâh "to build" (Strong's #1129, x376) are indicative of its range of application. Genesis 2:22 describes God's "building" of a woman out of Adam's "rib" or "side", צֵלָע tsêlâ‘ (Strong's #6763, x41). Next, Genesis 4:17 tells of the offspring of Cain and his wife, Enoch, and his "building" a city…
January 17, 2015
צָרָה tsârâh "trouble" (Strong's #6869, x73) is the feminine of צָרצַר tsar/tsâr "enemy, adversary" (Strong's #6862, x105) from צָרָר tsârâr "to bind, distress, besiege" (Strong's #6887, x58). "Trouble" (x44), "distress, affliction, adversity, anguish" (x5-8), and "tribulation" (x3) are common translations. The root idea seems to be that of contraint or compression due to pressure, lack of space, a narrow or tight environment, or squeezed and closed in on all sides. The idea of being an enemy seems to stem from the…
December 13, 2014
The word אָזן ’âzan "to weigh, balance" (Strong's #239, x1) is probably identical to אָזן ’âzan "to hear" (Strong's #238, x41) through either the idea of scales being balanced…
December 6, 2014
The word אָזן ’âzan "to hear" (Strong's #238, x41) appears to come from a root that may mean to be sharp or pointed, as animal's ears often are, or denominatively from the noun אזן ’ôzen "ear" (Strong's #241, x187). Psalm 135:17 combines the noun with the verb to hear: "They have ears,…
November 29, 2014
The word אזן ’ôzen "ear" (Strong's #241, x187) is a feminine singular noun that also occurs as a plural dual word, functioning a bit like our trousers, since they usually come in pairs. It shows up often in several idiomatic phrases in conjunction with other…
November 22, 2014
The masculine noun עֵזשׂשר ‘êzer means "help" (Strong's #5828, x21) as in the names ‘eben-ezer "stone of help" or Ezra "help", often spelled with an א or a ה at the end…
November 15, 2014
The word מִדְבָּר midh'bâr "wilderness, desert" (Strong's #4057, x271) derives from דָּבַר dâbhar "to speak, arrange/order, lead" (Strong's #1696, x1143) in the sense of "driving to pasture" (Exodus 3:1), rather than being a desolate…
